Frankly tracker, you hit it on the head, to a degree anyway. Without Loctite in place, even after one magazine worth of ammunition through the pistol, those grip screws will begin to loosen somewhat. Put two magazines worth of ammunition through it and they can loosen even more. After several magazines without checking the tightness of the grip screws and they can give you the problem of a dislodged trigger sear bar. Now, keeping in mind that the specific use of this weapon was intended from its inception as a deep concealment, last ditch effort self-protection firearm, it is very unlikely that you would realistically ever be using it for more than a few shoots at best in a situation anyway. By then, the threat would have most likely been resolved to a point where having a full blown arsenal at your bid and call is unwarranted and not necessary. Also, the grip screws will stay in place even without Loctite or something like it for the duration of your encounter anyway.
With that bit of information on the design thought of the R9 now in your possession, yes, that is the reason for the Loctite on the grip screws as most, not all, but most people would simply continue to shoot the gun without checking the tightness of them. Truly one of the Achilles heals of the weapon. However, with tightened screws and carried in a proper holster, it will certainly function without issue for its intended average 2.3 rounds shot during a confrontation. Knowing that you have three times that average with a total of 6 or 7 rounds at your beck and call, depending on how you personally carry the gun, it is more than sufficient for its role as a defensive sidearm in a low risk carry mode.
Now to address the Allen key affixed as the tip of a soldering gun. Although an interesting idea, I prefer the one we used at the shop as instructed by the Loctite service representative I spoke with a few years back about the situation. After you place a straight tipped soldering gun in the recess of the screw for 10 – 15 seconds, the screw gets to around the 300 degree temperature required to melt the glue back into a liquid state. Putting down the soldering gun, placing a fresh Allen key into the screw and undoing the screw while the Loctite has not had time to reset seems safer than “playing around” with a hot tipped Allen key that continues to get hotter and hotter while trying to unscrew the grip screw. I would not look to improve a fix that already is proven to work just fine as originally stated by the manufacturer, that being the Loctite company techs.
Well guys and gals, with all of that said. . . . . I rest my case for KISS. . . . Keep It Simple Silly. Don’t fix what isn’t broke. You’re thinking too hard now. Lol. If you insist on trying the new ides, by all means . . . . . Have fun experimenting with it. Not me though. I’ll just stay with what I know works just fine. ;-)
